Means for starting internal-combustion engines.



A W B WEST v MEANS FOR STARTING INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 28, `1909.

y Patented Oct. A19, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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W. B. WEST. MEANSMFOR STARTING INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES. APPLIOATIONFILED JAN.2B, 1909.

mama ma. 19,1909.

insigni) STATES Pitcairn rai-ca. I

WILLIAM B. WEST, COLUMBIA, MISSGURI.

MEANS FOR STARTING INTERNAL-COMBUSTIO'N ENGINES.

earner.

Specification of Letters Patent.

i atcintcd tiet. 19), 39ml.

Application inea January as, 1909. seriai no. 474,760.

To all cdrom it 'may concern:

lle it known that I, citizen of the United States, residing at Columbia,in the county of. vBoone and State of Missouri, have invented certainnew and use` ful Improvements in Means for Starting lnternal-Coinl'iustion Engines, of which the;

following is a specification.

The present invention relates to an iin proved device for startinginternal combu. tion engines such as are commonly employed in connectionwith automobiles, launches, and the like, and the object of tlie.invention is the provision of a device ot' this characterl which is peculiarlydesigned and constructed 5 so as to be readily manipulated from theusual station of the operator.

iV ith an automobile the device has the advantage of enabling theoperator to enter the car and be seated before starting the engine.

The invention further coi'itemplates a device of this character which issimple and inexpensive in its construction, and which can be readilyapplied to an automobile oi the like.

For a full. understanding of the invention and the merits thereof4 andalso to acquire a knowledge ol the details ot` construction and themeans t'or effecting the result, reference is to be had to the followingdescription and accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation ot' an antonio` bile provided with anengine starting device constructed in accordance with the presentinvention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view through thewheel and clutch mechanism mounted upon the counter-shaft,

portions of the engine shaft and automobile body being shown; Fig-3 is aside elevation of the device, the hand lever heilig omitted; and, Fig. 4is a transverse sectional View on the line 4--4 of Fig. 2. V

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followino'description and. indicated in all the views o? the drawings by 'the samereference characters.

Specifically describing the embodiment of the invention shown in thefirst tour figures of the drawings, thel numeral 1 designates the engineshaft, and 2 a coiintershaftwhich is `arranged in alinement with theengine j shaft at one end thereof and is journaled in a tubular bearing3 projecting inwardly from a bracket 4. A clutch member 5 is rigid withthe engine shaftl and a coperl/VILLIAM B. VVns'r,

lating clutch member 6 is rigid with the i iountershaft 2, the twoclutch i'iieniliers ben l ing normally held out of engagement with 1each other by'nieans oi a spring T which sur i, rounds the end of thecountershatt projecting beyond the bracket 4 and intei" posed betweenthe saidbraclret and :i pin S which passed t-raiisversely through therouiitershatt. For the purpose of throwing i 'the clutch members intoengagenientA with each other when starting the engine, a shifter lever 9is employed, the end of the lever being bifurcated and the arms of thebifurcation heilig provided with pins 10 which are received looselywithin an annular groove l1 li in a sleeve 12 which is rigidly appliedto the countershatt 2 and surrounds the tubular bearing 3. The pivot endof the shifter lever 9 is formed with a laterallv projecting arm 9 theextremity of which is connected by a venient to the operator. lt willthus be obvious that by placing the foot upon the toot lever' andapplying pressure thereto, the countershaft 2 can be movedlongitudinally in its bearings against the action of the spring 7 andthe clutch members 5 and 6 thrown into engagenient with each other.

' Loose :upon the sleeve 12 between a pair of set collars Ll thereon,'is a, wheel 15 the periphery ot which is grooved and has a.

ties of the cable being secured to the.v wheel. clutch ineinbcr 17 isapplied to one side ofthe wheel 15 and is in the forni ot a collarsurrounding the. sleeve 12, the interior of the collar heilig forn'icdwith a plurality of recesses 18 which are deeper at uone end than at.the opposite end and ionsequently have an inclined base. Arranged withincachot roller 20, thc small roller being disposed.v between the largeroller and the larger end of the recess. When thel wheel l5 is turned inone direction the two rollers of each ofthe recesses are shifted intothe larger end of the recess so as to turn freely and permit i the wheelto rotate independently of the l sleeve 12 and countersliaft 2. On theother l hand when the wheel is turned in the oppo- I site direction thelarge rollers 20 are wedged between the sleeve 12 and the inclined basesl of the recesses and the wheel are locked. with t the sleeve so thatthe wheel, the sleeve, and I the countershaft must all be turned in lunison. The edges of the clutch member 17 link 13 to a suitable footlever arranged conA cable 1G wound thereon, one of the (-.ixtreini-Vthese recesses are a small roller 19 and a largey ies l it) latch leverL hand.. This movement Both the c'ountershaft.

are beveled at 17 and engaged by the beveled edge of a ring 21 which isbolted or otherwise permanently connected to the wheel.

The cable 16 after being wound upon the wheel passes around a secondwheel orpulley 22 upon a lever 23 which is pivoted to the body of theautomobile so as to be readily grasped by a person upon the seat, theextremity of the cable. being secured tothe body of the automobile asindicated ats-'24. A latch 25 which is'eontrolled by the usual 26, ismounted 'upon the lever 23 and is designed to engage a rack 27 upon theautomobile to lock the lever".ag'ainst movement.

When it is desired to start the engine the clutch members 5 and 6 arefirst thrown into engagement with each other by pressing upon the footlever controlling 'the same, and the' main lever 23 `then drawnrearwardly by pulling upon the same with the of the main lever unwindsthe cable lfrom the'wheel 15 and turns the wheel in that direction inwhich itis locked with the countershaft by means of the roller clutchpreviously described. and engine .shaft are in this manner turned, andassoon as the main lever is again swung back to normal position, the wheel15 is turned tob Wind up the cable by means ofa spring 28, one end ofthe spring being'securedto the wheel while the opposite end is securedto the bracket, and the spring being placed under tension to start theengine. As the wheel thus turns to again wind up the cable the rollerclutch mechanism is thrown out of operation and when the lever 1s drawnrearwardly i i the Wheel turns independently of the countershaft. Shouldit become necessary in order to start the engine, it will be entirelyobvious that the operator could impart several successive pulls to themain lever, the Wheel 15 turning' independently of the countershaft whenwinding up the cable between the successive movements of the.

lever.

Having thus described is claimed as new is: l

In a starting device for internal combustion engines, the combination'with the engine shaft, of a bracket formed with a tubular bearing, acountersha't journaled with the tubular bearing and arranged inalinement with the. engine shaft, coperating clutch members upon the'engine shaft and countershaft, means for throwing the said clutchmembers into and out oi' engagement with each other, a clutch sleeverigid with the countershaft and surrounding the tubular bearing, a wheelloose upon the clutch sleeve, a clutch member upon the wheel a roller'clutch device between the clutch mem er and the sleeve which adnf'ilsof the wheel turningindependently. of the sleeve in one direction butlocks the wheel with the sleeve when direction, and means for turningthe wheel in the said opposite direction to nstart" the engine.

In testimony whereof I alx in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM B. WE ST.

Witnesses:v

M. B. MCDONNELL, A. E. WEs'r.

the invention, what my signature turned in the opposite

